Like a kid who found out he couldn’t open his Christmas presents until Dec. 29, we’ve waited much too long for football’s playoffs to roll around. And sadly, the package we’re unwrapping this week looks too much like another pair of socks.
There’s heightened anticipation with the postseason starting at its latest date ever this year, but this is all we get? A collection of games — both locally and statewide — that will have more mismatches than that drawer my new socks will go into?
The playoffs clearly got watered down with last year’s expansion to six classes, which allowed an additional 64 teams to get into the fray. That means roughly 85 percent of the state’s football schools make the postseason, and that means some bad football this week — and probably next.
I don’t know if the answer is to limit the field to two teams per district, because that would leave out some good teams. Perhaps we could try it at three per district, rewarding district champions with a first-round bye. The best answer would be a return to four classes, but that ship clearly has sailed, never to return.
So we have what we have, with at least three of tonight’s four area games having the potential for the 45-point running clock rule. At least it’ll be a short night.
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Only one available link for the first round, a Glasgow-Danville preview from the Glasgow Daily Times.
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At least this week’s picks didn’t take long, with only the Mercer County game giving me even a moment’s pause:
- Breathitt County over Garrard County
- Boyle County over Pendleton County
- Danville over Glasgow
- Mercer County over Perry County Central
Last week: 4-0; regular season 45-9 (.833).
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